Central America Faculty and Staff Immersion Trip

Join us

Every spring, a delegation of faculty and staff travels to Central America for a week-long immersive experience facilitated by the Center for Global Education and Experience. Co-sponsored with Intersections, the goals of the program are threefold:

Provide an international experience for faculty and staff that explores global justice issues in the context of a developing nation.
Increase participants’ appreciation for how the themes of human development, justice, and faith are understood in Jesuit higher education.
Encourage participants to discover ways of integrating these themes into their own life and into the work they do at Boston College.

Visit the Intersections site to apply

Nativity mural at Batahola Norte Community Center in Managua, Nicaragua

Testimonials

“Part of this trip was, for me, an opportunity to take some time away from my routine and not simply learn about the politics, history, and culture of Nicaragua, but also to take the time to reflect on some of the very issues that we ask our students to reflect upon. In a particular way, I was thinking about vocational questions, about how my work can be of benefit to the world. I think a lot of us were struggling with this after seeing the poverty in Nicaragua. It was also a valuable trip for our group because we—and I would argue this is true for many that choose a career in higher education—understand the importance of life-long learning and we value experiences that help us grow intellectually. This program was a wonderful experience that encourages intellectual growth and development.”

Akua Sarr, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academic Affairs, Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties
Testimonials

“I felt helpless so many times that it broke my heart almost every day. Seeing poverty in its rawest form has to touch you or you cannot call yourself a human being. But then I was renewed with the knowledge that people are helping each other, believing that life will be better for their kids, working hard to make that happen and staying strong in their faith and belief that God is watching over them and that better days are ahead. Thank you for giving me this education and personal growth. I am a different person because of this trip; I am a better person and a better employee because of this trip. 'Men and women for others' has taken on a new meaning for me since I have been home.”

Fred Winslow, Former Boston College Police Officer
Testimonials

“On a personal level, this was much more of an educational experience than I had ever imagined. I think there is no doubt that any of us who work with students come back to campus from Nicaragua with a much deeper understanding of international and even domestic service/immersion experiences and their role in an integrated education. For me personally, I am committed more than ever to developing academic experiences that weave experiential learning into the fabric of the course and correspondingly help students enter these experiences with a fuller academic/analytical understanding of the many forces at work. The expansion of consciousness of BC faculty and staff has to have many unforeseen effects on our lives and the decisions we make here that enhance the quality of a BC education as well.”

J. Joseph Burns, Associate Vice Provost for Undergraduate Academics, Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties
Testimonials

“After many years of working with and supporting students and staff on service trips (but never going), this trip has given me a greater appreciation for the work that those students, faculty and staff have done. I also think that this experience has really changed the way I think about the world and challenged assumptions about poverty, loyalty to country, and community service. For faculty and staff who perhaps are not entirely familiar with or aligned with the institutional mission and goals, this experience can certainly help articulate those.”

Carole Hughes, Senior Associate Dean, Dean of Students Office
Testimonials

“One of the values of this trip to the BC community is that it exposes the community to different perspectives—culturally, politically, and economically. It is also an opportunity for sincere engagement with issues that we do not normally address, bringing issues of social justice and human rights to the forefront. I especially appreciated the fact that I was privileged to meet and get to know members of the BC community, whom I may have never had the chance to meet and know.”

Margaret Lombe, Assistant Professor, Global Practice, Graduate School of Social Work

2019 Team

Hartmut Austen: Fine Arts Department
Elizabeth Bracher: Courage to Know
Judy Ferres: Office of Institutional Diversity
Karen Fiorentino: Office of Student Affairs
Julianna Gonzalez-McLean: Connell School of Nursing
Allyssa Harris: Connell School of Nursing
Burt Howell: Intersections
Lauri Johnson: Lynch School of Education
Rebekah Levine Coley: Lynch School of Education
David Lewis: ITS
Neil McCullagh: Corcoran Center, CSOM
Dan Ponsetto: VSLC
Alan Rogers: History Department
Eileen Suhrhoff: University Counseling Services

2018

The 2018 trip was cancelled due to political unrest in Nicaragua.

2017

Lisa Berasi: Office of Student Affairs
Vincent Cho: Lynch School of Education
Brian Gareau: Sociology Department
Andrzej Herczynski: Physics Department
Burt Howell: Intersections
Mary Jo Iozzio: School of Theology and Ministry
Yvonne Jenkins: University Counseling
Maureen Kenny: Lynch School of Education
Fang Lu: Slavic & Eastern Languages & Literatures
Yvonne McBarnett: Montserrat Coalition
Rosemary Panza: Lynch School of Education
Dan Ponsetto: Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Michael Serazio: Communication Department
Marc Snapper: Chemistry Department

2016

Patty Birch: Field Education Specialist, School of Social Work
Andrew Davis: Assistant Professor, School of Theology & Ministry
Rachel DiBella: Assistant Director, Women's Center
Eileen Donovan-Kranz: Associate Professor of the Practice, English Department
Nicole Eaton: Assistant Professor, History Department
Burt Howell: Director, Intersections
Dan Kirschner: Professor, Biology Department
Becca Lowenhaupt: Assistant Professor, Lynch School of Education
Kevin Mahoney: Professor, School of Social Work
Michael Martin: Chairperson, Arts and Sciences Honors Program
Robert Maryks: Associate Director, Institute for Advanced Jesuit Studies
Ines Maturana Sendoya: Director, Thea Bowman AHANA & Intercultural Center
Dan Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Patricia Riggin: Assistant Professor of the Practice, Theater Department
Rob Savage: Associate Professor of the Practice, History Department
Franziska Seraphim: Associate Professor, History Department
Samantha Teixeira: Assistant Professor, School of Social Work
Josephine Xiong: Assistant Director, Carroll School of Management

2015

Nasser Behnegar: Associate Professor, Political Science Department
John Boylan: Director, NMR Center, Chemistry Department
Rossanna Contreras-Godfrey: Associate Director, Learning to Learn
Katie Dalton: Director, Women's Center
Doug Finn: Assistant Professor, Theology Department
Rhonda Frederick: Associate Professor, English Department
Burt Howell: Director, Intersections
Regine Jean-Charles: Assistant Professor, Romance Languages & Literatures
John McDargh: Associate Professor, Theology Department
Kim Ngo: Senior HR Assistant, Human Resources
Kristen Patterson: Senior Associate Director, Office of Marketing Communications
Dan Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Cathy Read: Associate Professor, Connell School of Nursing
Franck Salameh: Associate Professor, Slavic/Eastern Languages
Michael Smith: Lecturer, Carroll School of Management
Melissa Sutherland: Assistant Professor, Connell School of Nursing

2014

Filippa Anzalone: Associate Dean, Law Library
Karen Colantuoni: Lead Catering Staff, Dining Services
John Ebel: Professor, Earth and Environmental Sciences
Jonathan Estwing: Technology Manager, Residential Life
Susan Gennaro: Dean, School of Nursing
Burt Howell: Director, Intersections
Jeanne Levesque: Director, Governmental Relations
Ourida Mostefai: Professor, Romance Languages & Literature
Erik Owens: Associate Professor, Theology
Daniel Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Barbara Quinn: Associate Director, Spiritual Formation
Tracy Regan: Associate Professor, Economics
Ce Shen: Associate Professor, Global Practice
Mark Spiegel: Professor, Law School
Celeste Wells: Assistant Professor, Communications

2013

Bartomeu Estelrich Barcelo: Assistant Director, Special Projects, Intersections
Monetta Edwards: Program and Events Administrator, Center for Centers
William Fehder: Clinical Associate Professor, Adult Health Nursing, CSON
Burt Howell: Director, Intersections
Amy LaCombe: Senior Lecturer, CSOM
Micah Lott: Assistant Professor, Philosophy
Shawn McGuffey: Associate Professor, Sociology
Enzo Gustavo Morello: Associate Professor, Sociology
Kelly Rossetto: Assistant Professor, Communications
Daniel Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer and Service Learning Center
Stephen Pope: Professor, Theology
David Twomey: Professor, Business Law, CSOM
Christopher Wilson: Professor, English
Jean Yoder: Associate Director, Student Programs Office
Cynthia Young: Associate Professor, English

2012

Sarah Beckford: Associate Professor, Romance Languages & Literature Department
Ingrid Calder: Administrative Assistant, Academic Advising Center
Curt Dudley-Marling: Professor, LSOE, Teacher Education
Deborah Grondin: Boston College Police Department
Gina Harvey: Director, Space Planning, IRPA
Marilynn Johnson: Professor, History Department
Gail Kineke: Associate Professor, Chairperson, Earth & Environmental Sciences
Zine Magubane: Associate Professor, Sociology Department
Suzanne Matson: Professor, Chairperson, English Department
Richard Paul: Program Specialist, African & African Diaspora Studies Program
Martin Summers: Associate Professor, History Department
Tracey West: Assistant Dean for Students, Law School

2011

Elizabeth Bagnani: Faculty, Accounting Department
R. Michael Cassidy: Faculty, Law School
Dacia Gentilella: Learning Skills Specialist, Learning to Learn
Burton Howell: Director, Intersections Project
Michael Keith: Faculty, Communications Department
Laura O’Dwyer: Faculty, LSOE
Darrell Peterson: Director, Graduate Student Life
Daniel Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer & Service Learning Center
Timothy Rice: Senior Functions Coordinator, Bureau of Conferences
Jessica Salefski: Program/Communication Specialist, STM

2010

Angela Amar: Faculty, Psych/Mental Health Nursing, CSON
Karl Bell: Assistant Dean, Student Programs Office
Penny Cram: Faculty, Counseling/Dev/Psych, LSOE
Jane Crowley: Senior Assistant Director, Office of Undergraduate Admissions
Solomon Friedberg: Faculty, Mathematics, A&S
Elizabeth Graver: Faculty, English, A&S
Sheilah Horton: Associate VP, Dean for Student Development, ODSD
Edilma Hosein: Administrative Assistant, Office for Institutional Diversity
Burton Howell: Director, Intersections Project
Michael Kelly: Faculty, Philosophy, A&S
Susan Mattis: Faculty, A&S Honors Program
Zachary Morgan: Faculty, History, A&S
Marina McCoy: Faculty, Philosophy, A&S
Anthony Penna: Director, Campus Ministry
Daniel Ponsetto: Director, Volunteer & Service Learning Center

Learning Outcomes

The goals of the Nicaragua Faculty and Staff Immersion Trip are:

To provide an international experience for faculty and staff that explores global justice issues in the context of a developing nation;
To further participants’ understanding of how issues of human development, justice, and faith are linked in the Jesuit mission in higher education;
To encourage participants to find ways of integrating these themes into their own life and their work at Boston College

Join us

Testimonials

Testimonials

Testimonials

Testimonials

Testimonials

The goals of the Nicaragua Faculty and Staff Immersion Trip are: